Fire heat up, gain revenge vs. Revs
"Whoever said the U.S. Open Cup is not taken seriously can clearly see it's a serious affair," he said.
The Fire will face D.C. United on Sept. 6 in the semifinals at Toyota Park, thanks in large part to Andy Herron's two goals against the Revolution.
"[New England] came out with the mentality of winning," he said. "Facing a team with all their starters, while we gave ours a rest, it was a huge effort. It was the same attitude as Sunday."
Herron, who got very heated during the match with New England defender Jay Heaps, remained defiant after the match. Herron and Heaps each earned cautions for dissent in the 67th minute.
"We will use this [game] and send them [the league] a message," Herron said. "If they are to face us in the playoffs, they are going to have to play overtime to leave us out like they did last year."
Last season, the Fire lost in the Eastern Conference Championship 1-0 to the Revolution in New England. Chicago appeared to have tied the match in stoppage time, by the goal was waived off.
If Herron is the powderkeg of the Chicago Fire, then rookie Calen Carr is the man that lets everything roll off his back.
Commenting on his first-half collision with Revs 'keeper Doug Warren, an "And1 360°" as Zach Thornton called it, Calen joked, "I felt like I was in the air a really long time, and I had a thought process. I remember hearing the crowd grasp and hitting the ground thinking, am I dead?"
Despite the horror of the hit, Calen bounced off the field uninjured.
"I knew I wasn't hurt so it didn't matter," he said. "It was a once in a lifetime happening."
When asked about his thought process going in hard for a loose ball later on in the second half, leading to the penalty kick, Calen said he didn't even think of it.
"I just laughed off the play in halftime," he said. "I was just worried about getting goals."
That penalty kick led to Andy Herron's second goal of the match, the eventual game winner. Carr was all over the field against New England and that drew praise from his coach.
"Calen, for a young kid, I thought he was quite good," Sarachan said.
Regarding the collision that sent Carr flying, Sarachan made light of what could have been serious.
"It was just a young, dumb play and [it took] a young, dumb kid to bounce back from that the way he did," he said.
Diego Guttierrez, an original Fire member who won a U.S. Open Cup with the club, said that the match became more intense through the latter stages.
"This tournament is gaining importance year by year," Guttierrez said. "A few weeks ago I said it wasn't time to push the panic button [despite the Fire's record in league play]. We're here to compete and you saw that tonight, and we'll continue to compete in the league and in this tournament."
Fire defender Jim Curtin said that he and his teammates take pride in the U.S. Open Cup. He added that being able to beat New England was a bit of sweet revenge for Chicago.
"They don't like us and we don't like them," Curtin said. "They've kind of replaced Dallas as our main rival. It gets really heated. For a while there they owned us and now we're getting them back."
Jack Daniel Chavez is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
